Multiple Sclerosis Seizures: Rare But There

While the incidence rate of seizures in people living with multiple sclerosis is right around that of people in the general population, I’ve read from enough of you to know that it is a symptom that some do experience. I believe I may have had something of a seizure last night as I got into bed.

By definition, from the National MS Society’s page on seizure, I’m not 100 percent sure it would be called a seizure by the medical profession. The three forms of episodes they list are as follows:

Generalized tonic-clonic seizures are brief episodes of unconsciousness with uncontrollable jerking movements of the extremities.

Partial complex seizures are periods of stereotyped repetitive activity. The person appears to be awake but does not respond to external stimuli.

I was cold getting into bed last night — cold like ‘I think I must have a fever’ cold. Slipping into bed, the cool sheets seemed to suck any warmth left in my body in a rather painful manner. It should be noted that the thermostat is in working order and was all the way up to 67 to assist warming my frigid body; so it wasn’t really that cold.

When I tried to cover my head to breathe warm air into the bed is when things started to get weird.

I say that it may not have been a seizure because I didn’t lose consciousness completely and was somewhat aware of what was happening. Also, while I couldn’t control any of the jerking movements and odd sounds I was making, I did not lose control of my bladder or bowels. Not sure how that fits into this episode.

I say that I was somewhat aware of the goings on, but it was an awareness that was mostly one of panicked observation. The way my body was trembling and jerking wasn’t like the involuntary shivering it does to resist hypothermia. It seemed more like the way I’ve seen actors portray electrocutions or, well, seizures — though I couldn’t see myself.

My eyes were closed and it wasn’t until it seemed to pass that I realized that my eyes were squinted shut very firmly and there was almost a cramping pain in the muscles around them when I was able to open them.

I don’t even know how long it lasted. While it seemed at the time like it was going on forever; I’d guess that it was well less than a minute.

As my breathing returned to normal — I don’t know what the pattern was during the event, but I know that it was different than what I was returning to — I also noticed that my body no longer felt cold. The sheets were not painfully cold, though I could tell the warmer spots where I lay from the colder side of the bed (Caryn was still up as I was retiring early).

Had I lost control and wet the bed or something, I would have accepted Caryn’s offer to take me in to the hospital. If I have another episode like this, I’ll likely take a look at that option as well. I most assuredly will be discussing this with my MS doc when I see him next month.

As a few of you have mentioned seizures before in our pages, I’m wondering if you might expound on your experiences so we might all learn from them. It’s the greatest strength we have, our community.

Get the latest health updates

Thanks for signing up!

Oops!

A system error was encountered. Please try again later.

Follow us on your favorite social network!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Trevis Gleason

Trevis L. Gleason is a food journalist and published author, an award-winning chef and culinary instructor who has taught at institutions such as Cornell University, New England Culinary Institute and...read more